Micelles are simple, spherical structures formed by phospholipids in aqueous environments. In a micelle, the hydrophobic fatty acid tails face inward to form a water-free core, while the hydrophilic polar head groups align on the outer surface to interact with the surrounding water.

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Due to their amphipathic nature, phospholipids spontaneously assemble into energetically stable structures in aqueous environments. While their polar heads are attracted to water, their long, nonpolar tails are excluded from water and strongly attracted to one another. This causes the hydrophobic tails to congregate within enclosed areas, shielded from water by the hydrophilic heads. Common arrangements include micelles, lipid-bilayer sheets, and lipid-bilayer spheres.

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Micelles

Lipid bilayer sheets, also known as unit membranes, are large, two-dimensional structures formed by two opposing rows of phospholipids. In these sheets, the hydrophobic tails are oriented inward, congregated tail-to-tail, while the hydrophilic polar heads face outward. These assemblies serve as the structural foundation of cellular membranes in almost all organisms, as well as the membranes of various internal cell components.

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